The world is facing an explosive COVID‐19 pandemic. Some cases rapidly develop deteriorating lung function, which causes deep hypoxaemia and requires urgent treatment. Many centres have started treating patients in the prone position, and oxygenation has improved considerably in some cases. Questions have been raised regarding the mechanisms behind this. The mini review provides some insights into the role of supine and prone body positions and summarises the latest understanding of the responsible mechanisms. The scope for discussion is outside the neonatal period and entirely based on experimental and clinical experiences related to adults. The human respiratory system is a complex interplay of many different variables. Therefore, this mini review has prioritised previous and ongoing research to find explanations based on three scientific areas: gravity, lung structure and fractal geometry and vascular regulation. It concludes that gravity is one of the variables responsible for ventilation/perfusion matching but in concert with lung structure and fractal geometry, ventilation and regulation of lung vascular tone. Since ventilation distribution does not change between supine and prone positions, the higher expression of nitric oxide in dorsal lung vessels than in ventral vessels is likely to be the most important mechanism behind enhanced oxygenation in the prone position.
Tuesday 30 June 2020
Sunday 28 June 2020
Wednesday 24 June 2020
P KZN NBLA X PX X LDH X FERRITIN
LDH and ferritin are strongly prognostic in NB, overall and within high‐risk NB patients treated post‐2009 with modern therapy. LDH and ferritin show promise for (a) identifying ultra‐high‐risk; (b) refining risk stratification; and (c) clinical utility in low‐/middle‐income countries. Routine collection of LDH and ferritin should be reinitiated for evolving NB risk stratification.
History is a vast early warning system. -Norman Cousins
History is a vast early warning system. -Norman Cousins
PHYSX
For a while many physicists thought that protons, neutrons, and electrons were the Greeks' "atoms." But in 1968 experimenters at
the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, making use of the increased capacity of technology to probe the microscopic depths of
matter, found that protons and neutrons are not fundamental, either. Instead they showed that each consists of three smaller
particles, called quarks—a whimsical name taken from a passage in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake by the theoretical physicist
-- 8 --
Murray Gell-Mann, who previously had surmised their existence. The experimenters confirmed that quarks themselves come in
two varieties, which were named, a bit less creatively, up and down. A proton consists of two up-quarks and a down-quark; a
neutron consists of two down-quarks and an up-quark.
////////////////////////
Nothing outruns photons.
/////////////////////////
On November 7, 1919, the headline in the London Times read "REVOLUTION IN SCIENCE—NEW THEORY OF THE
UNIVERSE—NEWTONIAN IDEAS OVERTHROWN."21 This was Einstein's moment of glory.
/////////////////////////////////////
The uncertainty principle captures the heart of quantum mechanics
P0M0
////////////////////////According to the standard model, just as the photon is the smallest constituent of an electromagnetic field, the strong and the weak
force fields have smallest constituents as well.
////////////////////////////////
Tuesday 23 June 2020
P KZN FYI X RECENTLY VACCINATED
Definite bacterial infection in recently vaccinated febrile infants
There is insufficient evidence regarding the best approach to evaluating recently vaccinated (RV) infants presenting to the paediatric emergency department with fever. The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of bacterial infections in infants presenting with fever within 72 h after vaccination.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical record of infants aged between 6 and 12 weeks who presented with a fever ≥38°C to the emergency department from January 2016 to December 2018. Febrile infants who were vaccinated within 72 h prior to their emergency department presentation were matched to those who had not received their vaccines in the previous 72 h. Definite serious bacterial infection was diagnosed based on culture results.
Results
A total of 198 infants (age: 9 ± 1.84 weeks, male: 119 (60.1%)) were enrolled in this study. Overall, 60 of 138 (30.3%) had received their vaccines within the previous 72 h. The prevalence of bacterial infection in RV infants was 5% compared to 15.2% in non‐RV infants (P = 0.056). Interestingly, all vaccinated infants who had proven bacterial infection presented to the emergency department with fever within 24 h of vaccination, and all bacterial infections in that group were urinary tract infections.
Conclusions
The prevalence of bacterial infection among non‐RV febrile infants is relatively higher than those RV. However, fever should not be attributed only to the vaccinations, and all febrile RV infants should be carefully evaluated, and at least urine testing should be performed regardless of the time of vaccination.
COVID X PRONING
Using the prone position could help to combat the development of fast hypoxia in some patients with COVID‐19
STOIC COSMOGONY
The Stoics defined the main emotions as grief, fear, desire and pleasure. They regarded them as being essentially errors of judgement, just as they regarded the virtues as consisting of correct knowledge. Avarice, for example, is the irrational misjudgement that money is a good in itself.
"The philosopher Diogenes of Babylon summed up the essence of Stoicism when he said that the telos of human life is to act rationally in choosing those things which are in accordance with Nature
SENECA X LAD X LEX MESS 70 X LON X ALON
"As Seneca said: Our business is to live in accordance with Nature, and it is against Nature to torment one's body, to hate basic cleanliness, to seek out squalor and to eat food that is not merely cheap but disgusting and horrible..... Philosophy requires frugality, not punishment; and frugality need not be drab
PSYD PTSD
The quote refers to the idea that stressful events might harden the mind, enabling it to withstand future misfortunes.
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that “What does not kill me makes me stronger”.- NO CAN CAUSE DISABY AND PTSD
The quote refers to the idea that stressful events might harden the mind, enabling it to withstand future misfortunes.
But a new study finds that the belief is false — worse, the exact opposite is true.
Crises and setbacks make people more susceptible to further problems.
Researchers found that previous traumas sensitise people, increasing their chance of developing mental health problems.
LYF IS A B MEDITN
BAD FOOD IS ALSO GOOD MEDITN
MEDITN IS WINDING DOWN OF LYF
|
DTHX GAVE IT BACK TO COSMIC GON
"Epictetus had already used this same metaphor of Nature periodically giving things to us and then taking them back. He even applied it to one of the worst experiences that life has to offer, the loss of a loved one: Never say of anything, “I lost it”, but rather, “I gave it back”. Your child has died? You gave him back. Your wife has died? You gave her back. “My property has been confiscated.” No, you gave that back as well.
"Empty are the words of that philosopher who offers therapy for no human suffering. For just as there is no use in medical expertise if it does not give therapy for bodily diseases, so too there is no use in philosophy if it does not expel the suffering of the soul. (Porphyry, To Marcella 31; trans. A.A.Long and D.N.Sedley)"
SENECA X STOIC X SPANISH ORIGIN
.[H]e who has a desire or an aversion for things which are not within his power can be neither faithful nor free, but is forced to shift around and suffer being inflamed... and he is forced to be obedient to other people who have the power to give or deny those things to him
"The Stoics defined the main emotions as grief, fear, desire and pleasure. They regarded them as being essentially errors of judgement, just as they regarded the virtues as consisting of correct knowledge. Avarice, for example, is the irrational misjudgement that money is a good in itself.
"The Stoics taught that there are four primary virtues from which all the others flow: prudence, courage, temperance and justice. (They got this theory of the four primary virtues from Plato – it later ended up influencing Christian moral thinking.) There was a corresponding set of vices – imprudence, cowardice, and so on.
"The philosopher Diogenes of Babylon summed up the essence of Stoicism when he said that the telos of human life is to act rationally in choosing those things which are in accordance with Nature.
"A key theme in Greek philosophy is the telos – the “end” or “objective”. Not unnaturally, philosophers thought that part of their task was to uncover the telos of human life, in much the same way as Monty Python or Deep Thought in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Philosophers from Aristotle onwards came up with the answer that the telos of humanity is something called eudaimonia."
DTH X BJR X SABOD JUDGMNT REBRTH
Marcus Aurelius just didn't know, and didn't care that much either: The man who is afraid of death is afraid either of not experiencing anything or of experiencing something new. But either you will experience no sensation and therefore nothing bad; or else you will have a new kind of sensation and you will be a different kind of being, but you will not stop being alive. (8.58) In any event, the sting of death was diminished for the Stoic by the knowledge of what an insignificant part of the world he was. “Soon you will forget everything. Soon everything will forget you.” (7.21) That was how Marcus Aurelius reconciled himself to his fate.
Monday 22 June 2020
WHERE IS HEAVEN-It resides at a tangent to reality, and it is infinite.
It resides at a tangent to reality, and it is infinite.
ANTE NARAYANA SMRITI
“Our motto is ‘Ante Narayana Smriti’—everything we do throughout our lives is tested at the end of it, and our test is to remember the Lord at the end of our lives,” Sarvajna says. “We hope that the Krishna conscious atmosphere The Vedic Home for Elders provides for devotees to pass away in—in the presence of the
Deities, devotees, the holy name, and Ganga water—will help them remember the Lord at the most important moment.”
Deities, devotees, the holy name, and Ganga water—will help them remember the Lord at the most important moment.”
“I REFUSE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION ON THE GROUNDS THAT I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER” – DOUGLAS ADAMS
“I REFUSE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION ON THE GROUNDS THAT I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER”
– DOUGLAS ADAMS
B MIND We have two faces: our intrinsic nature and our reactive patterns—the bad habits of the psyche. Effective practice mirrors both, gradually revealing our nature, while at the same time, clarifying what obstructs it. —Interview with Anne C. Klein by Donna Lynn Brown
We have two faces: our intrinsic nature and our reactive patterns—the bad habits of the psyche. Effective practice mirrors both, gradually revealing our nature, while at the same time, clarifying what obstructs it.
—Interview with Anne C. Klein by Donna Lynn Brown
—Interview with Anne C. Klein by Donna Lynn Brown
Sunday 21 June 2020
brain's medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), where our minds keep a map of our social circles, based on closeness. People who feel lonelier tend to feel a gap between themselves and others, which is reflected in MPFC activity.
brain's medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), where our minds keep a map of our social circles, based on closeness. People who feel lonelier tend to feel a gap between themselves and others, which is reflected in MPFC activity.
M Outpatient use of the antibiotic azithromycin was associated with greater 5-year risk for CV death, non-CV death and all-cause mortality compared with amoxicillin, researchers reported.
Outpatient use of the antibiotic azithromycin was associated with greater 5-year risk for CV death, non-CV death and all-cause mortality compared with amoxicillin, researchers reported.
B MIND Not only are we buddhas (or at least in the process of becoming buddhas), we are somehow, remarkably, deserving of being loved. —Taylor Plimpton
Not only are we buddhas (or at least in the process of becoming buddhas), we are somehow, remarkably, deserving of being loved.
—Taylor Plimpton
—Taylor Plimpton
ANTRIM To know one's self is wisdom, but not to know one's neighbors is genius."
To know one's self is wisdom, but not to know one's neighbors is genius."
Saturday 20 June 2020
P KZN Nasopharyngeal carriage with any bacteria is associated with wheezing, but not respiratory tract infections, asthma or lung function.
Nasopharyngeal carriage with any bacteria is associated with wheezing, but not respiratory tract infections, asthma or lung function.
B MIND X LANKAVATARA SUTRA X“Eating meat has countless offences” Buddha teaches it is “root of great suffering”
The Lankavatara Sutra
Introduction
The Lankavatara Sutra (“Sutra on the Descent to Lanka”) is an unsystematic and partial overview
of the One Path teaching of Mahayana Buddhism. Its purpose is to lead advanced bodhisattvas to
final self-realization, that is, to be a tathagata (see below). It recounts a visit the Buddha is said to
have made to the island of Lanka, where he explained the Dharma to Sagara, a Serpent King, and
later at the invitation of Rāvana, the king of the island of Lanka, to a vast assembly of advanced
monks and bodhisattvas.1
The Lanka is a sacred text of Yogacara Buddhism and a key sutra in the
development of Buddhist thought in China, Tibet, and Japan, especially in early Chan (Zen)
Buddhism. Bodhidharma, the legendary first patriarch of Chan in China, was considered a master
of the sutra to such an extent that early Chan was referred to as the Lankavatara or Lanka
School.2
According to legend, he gave the sutra to his most advanced student and successor, Huik’o,
saying that everything he needed to know about the Dharma was in the sutra.
This primer summaries the history and development of the sutra, its storyline and main
teachings, and practices that follow from these teachings.
History and Development
The origins of the Lanka are uncertain, but it may have been composed in India in Sanskrit in the
late fourth century C.E., though it first appears in historical retrospect in China in the early fifth
century C.E.
3 Dharmaksema (385-433), an Indian monk, first translated the sutra into Chinese in
China in the early fifth century, though his text is no longer extant. Gunabhadra (in 443),
Bodhiruci (in 513), and Shikshananda (in 704) made later translations of the Lanka into Chinese
that are extant.
4 The various lengths of the translations indicate that the translators were working
from different Sanskrit versions, a sign perhaps of the flexibility of the content of the sutra at the
time. The most common format today has nine chapters of prose mixed with verse and a last
chapter in verse. Scholars suggest that the introductory chapter and last two chapters were added
later. Commentaries on the sutra were written during this period in China, too, but few survive.
Several translations were later made into Tibetan and then other languages, such as English.
Although the sutra presents a comprehensive review of the teachings of Chan, the Diamond
Sutra replaced it in the middle of the seventh century as a primary Chan text. A reason given is
that the Lanka is an incredibly difficult text to understand without a teacher, so a more palatable
text was sought as the first Chan monasteries with large numbers of students with different levels
of understanding formed. The fourth patriarch, Tao-shin (580-651), was said to have had over
500 disciples and the fifth patriarch, Hung-jen (601-674), more than a thousand. The transition in
teaching emphasis is symbolized in the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch in the legendary
verse competition between the eventual sixth patriarch Hui-neng (638-713), a Diamond Sutra
supporter, and Shen-hsui (605-706), a supporter of the continued use of the Lanka.
5
The Storyline
2
In the sutra’s introductory chapter, the Buddha has just emerged from teaching the Dharma to a
serpent king, Sagara, in his watery kingdom near the island of Lanka when Rāvana invites him to
give similar instruction in his own island capitol. The Buddha agrees and begins to instruct the
king on the Dharma. The king then asks Mahamati (“Great Wisdom”), an eloquent speaker and
advanced bodhisattva, to ask the Buddha questions about his beliefs, which Mahamati does for an
extended section of the sutra. In answering Mahamati’s questions in a dialogue structured by the
Buddha himself, the Buddha reviews the conceptual categories of Mahayana Buddhism as well as
those of other paths for comparison. The conversation continues in this manner, mainly in prose,
for over 200 pages in Red Pine’s text. In interpretive perspective, the answers provide a
comprehensive overview of a version of mind-only Yogacara Buddhism and the core Zen
teaching that words alone are not adequate for the transmission of the Dharma.
Readers will search in vain for apparent pattern in the order of questions asked and for a
complete explanation of the Buddha’s teachings. According to Suzuki, “the whole Lankavatara is
just a collection of notes unsystematically strung together, and, frankly speaking, it is a useless
task to attempt to divide them into sections, or chapters, under some specific titles.”
6 An
alternative reading of the sutra’s scattered teachings (and perhaps of what Suzuki was ultimately
referring to) is that a systematic and full account of the Dharma in words and thoughts is to be
purposely avoided, which the Lanka sets out to do. To do so will most likely entrap readers in a
reliance on doctrinal teachings in word and thought form, a trap the sutra repeatedly warns
against. The task in practice is to place one’s mind on awareness itself and forget words and
thoughts, which is zazen. In the text this process of dissembling words and thoughts is perhaps
most clearly demonstrated by the Buddha’s continued use of contradictions.7
In Suzuki’s words,
“The one most important thing that students of Buddhism have to realize at the very outset of
their study is that Buddhism is not a system of philosophy, has nothing to do with speculations as
such, has no intention to present a logically-coherent formula of thought. What the Buddhist
teaching professes to do is to get us truthfully (yathā-bhūtam) acquainted with the ultimate facts
of existence.”8
The following two sections provide a sampling of the teachings in the Lanka and the practices
they suggest.
Key Teachings
Teachings within the Lanka cover a wide range of Mahayana concepts cast within a Yogacara
(“mind-only”) and tathagata-garbha (buddha-nature) context. Throughout the stress is on
attaining the inner enlightenment that thoroughly understands the illusory nature of all duality and
distinctions. The many teachings include: the major teachings that a bodhisattva is expected to be
conversant with, the nature of the purification of the mind, the bodhisattva path and its ten stages,
the meaning of emptiness, the teaching method of a buddha, the nature of consciousness, the
nature of the path to liberation, the difference between nirvana and enlightenment, the cultivation
of buddha knowledge, the three bodies of the buddha, what mind-only means, the two kinds of
no-self, what bodhisattvas are to teach others, the nature of causation, the three means of
knowledge, the two modes of reality, the meaning of silence when teaching, the use of skillful
means, the nature of the ten delusions, the use of words and phrases, the One Path teaching, and
the goals of practice. This section expands on ten of these teachings.
3
The One Path is the path that points directly to the mind, which is the hallmark of Chan
(Zen).9
The Mind-Only Doctrine of Yogacara Buddhism teaches that the world and its contents are
but manifestations of the mind or more exactly only mind. If a correct doctrine, it changes our
perception of the dharmas, which include all things we think are real, whether tangible,
intangible, or imaginary, and our everyday common sense duality of observer and observed. They
are all nothing but manifestations of the mind or only mind, and a source of ignorance.
10
According to the sutra: “our mind is the world and the world is our mind. If the world were a
manifestation of the mind, they would be different. But they are neither one nor different.”
Nonetheless, the sutra uses the word ‘manifestation’ (projection) to facilitate the teaching.
Liberation consists of becoming aware that the world and our mind are “neither one nor
different.”
11 As in Zen, the sutra points directly at the mind, for mind itself is the only reality. The
Lanka describes as well the eight layers of consciousness that consist of six sense
consciousnesses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and conceptual consiousness) and two subconscious
consciousnesses (a manas and a repository). The eighth or repository consciousness
(alaya-vijnana) acts like a receptacle into which the latent karmic energy of past and present
habitual tendencies or ingrained dispositions (bijas) are deposited into, stored, and at times
reactivated.
The Tathagata-garbha Doctrine. The concept of tathagata-garbha (buddha-nature) is a key
Mahayana doctrine that holds that all sentient beings, as soiled as they may be, contain the
potential to become a Buddha within them, though in a hidden, non-manifest form. In this form it
represents the germ of liberation that we all innately have. While tathagata-garbha is said for
expedient reasons to be a real essence that is eternal and immutable, it is at base equivalent to
emptiness and the nature of the mind itself.
The Three Bodies of the Buddha (Trikāya) Doctrine. This doctrine proposes that the
Buddha like all Buddhas exists in three forms. In his true nature, known as the Truth Body
(dharma-kaya), he is the eternal essence of the universe, which is equivalent in Buddhist lore to
ultimate truth or absolute reality. When teaching the Dharma he takes on one of two forms
appropriate to his audience. In his Enjoyment Body (sambhoga-kaya), he manifests in a sublime
celestial form in which he teaches vast numbers of Bodhisattvas and supernatural beings in
settings of exquisite splendor in multiple buddhalands. When he teaches human beings, he
manifests himself as his Emanation or earthly Body (nirmana-kaya) in order to not frighten his
audience. In contrast, in Theravada Buddhism the Buddha is regarded as a human being, though
remarkable in his achievements.
The Non-Self (Anatman) Doctrine. According to this doctrine, neither sentient beings nor
objects have an independent self-nature, for they are but manifestations of the mind or mind
itself. Clinging to the concept of an ego is considered the cause of all suffering and a belief that
must be overcome.
The Use of Words and Letters in Teaching the Dharma. A distinguishing stress in Zen is
the uselessness of the intellectual analysis of sutras alone for the attainment of liberation, for the
transmission of the Dharma between master and student ultimately takes place outside words and
letters. The rationale is that words themselves cannot exhaust meaning inherent in truth.
Nonetheless, the use of words and letters plays an essential role in rudimentary phases of the
teaching. Once they have fulfilled their purpose, they are put aside.
4
The Emptiness (Sunyata) Doctrine. In a Yogacara context, emptiness is the realization of
the non-existence of observer and observed. The concept recognizes that all composite things are
devoid of a self-nature or independent substance (svabhava). They are nothing more than
appearances in the mind.
The No-Birth View of Existence (Anatpāda). If human beings, like dogs and cats, are just
projections of Mind or only mind, it makes no sense to talk about their birth and death as if they
were physical beings. As expressed in the sutra, “O Mahamati, it is taught by the Tathagatas of
the past, future, and present that all things are unborn. Why? All things are unborn because they
are the manifestations of our own mind and have no reality of their own.”12
While birth and death
are well-known features of the relative, discriminative world, they do not exist in the absolute
world, a realm beyond the senses that is supreme wisdom (āryajnāna).13
The Nature of a Tathagata. Since the nature of the Buddha as the Tathagata is stressed
throughout the Lanka, practitioners should have some understanding of what is emphasized by
this title for the Buddha. Rather than using words like I, me, or myself, the Buddha often refers to
himself as the Tathagata (“One who has the nature of thusness in his comings and goings”).
While the Tathagata has attained enlightenment (Bodhi) and awakened to the nature of reality, he
importantly also has the will and compassion to liberate all beings by leading them to the direct
experience of reality. This attitude separates the Tathagata from arhats and other practitioners
who focus on liberation for themselves. He does this in part by taking different forms so as to be
able to teach a wide variety of beings most effectively, as mentioned above. While he is known
by many names in these diverse settings, there is only one Tathagata − or so it is said as an
expedient means in teaching. According to Suzuki, when we have mastered this phase of
Buddhist teaching, “we have mastered more than half of its secrets.”14
The Lanka’s Influence on Diet in China. The Lanka also influenced the attitude of the
Chinese toward the eating of meat. Among the many reasons offered in the sutra for why one
should not eat meat are: as humans go through cycles of transmigration, a close relative, such as
one’s deceased mother, could have been reborn in an animal form, so eating meat could mean
eating one’s mother; since the essence of bodhisattvaship is great compassion for all sentient
beings, a bodhisattva should not eat the flesh of another sentient being; the eating of meat causes
terror among animals, so people will turn away from a teacher who contributes to the terrorization
of animals by eating meat; since animal flesh is considered filled with pollutants, a person on the
spiritual path should not eat meat to avoid possible contagion; likewise, meat-eating not only
pollutes a meat-eater, but their descendants. The proper food for a bodhisattva is rice, barley,
wheat, all kinds of beans, clarified butter, oil, honey, molasses, and sugar prepared in proscribed
ways. The Buddha in his dharmakaya body is said to be fed by the food of truth (dharmāhāra).
Practice
Since the Lanka was pivotal in the development of early Zen, its emphasis on the all-importance
of putting the teachings into practice “beyond words and letters” to acquire final self-realization is
not unexpected. According to Suzuki, “this side of the sutra [the mind-only teaching] is
incidental, its chief theme being the doctrine of self-realisation. Whatever psychology, or logic, or
metaphysics it may contain, is to prove the main doctrine.”15
Red Pine presents the same idea
using the Zen metaphor of the difference between a cup of tea (the teachings) and tasting the tea
5
(the practice).16 It is not sufficient to have the cup of tea in your hand, you must taste the tea. It is
useful to think of the elements that makeup the cup itself as the myriad concepts of Mahayana
Buddhism, many of which are mentioned above. If the elements that make up the cup do not
congeal smoothly into the form of a useable cup, the jumble of elements will not hold tea. Of
course, most practitioners find that understanding this myriad of concepts in depth without the
guidance of a master is extremely difficult. For the less accomplished, their “cup” might never
hold tea, at least in their present lifetime.
As bodhisattvas advance in their training they find that tasting the tea is more difficult than
molding the cup. In the Lanka tea comes in ten different graded flavors that become increasingly
difficult to discern as one moves from the first to the tenth flavor. These are the ten stages
(bhūmis) of the bodhisattva path. From first to tenth, the stages are: (1) Perfect Joy (pramuditabhumi),
the initial stage in which a Bodhisattva embarks on the path toward enlightenment
(bodhicitta) and has their first perception of the truth of reality (emptiness); (2) the Stainless
(vimala-bhumi)in which one becomes free of all defilements (3) the Luminous (prabhakaribhumi)
in which one strengthens and deepens their insight and patience through meditation; (4)
the Radiant Intellect (arcismati-bhumi), during which all good qualities are pursued and laziness
eradicated; (5) the Hard to Conquer (sudurjaya-bhumi) is an arduous stage in which a bodhisattva
devotes himself to his own development and to the welfare of others; (6) Facing Forward
(abhimukhi-bhumi) in which great wisdom is attained and insight into the true nature of all
phenomena is gained; (7) Going far (duramgama-bhumi), during which one gains the power of
skillful means (upaya-kausalya) and there is nothing but mind; (8) Immovable (acala-bhumi),
during which it is no longer possible to fall back and one is free of projections; (9) the Good
(sadhumati-bhumi) is the stage in which a bodhisattva begins to preach the doctrine and convert
other beings; (10) Cloud of the Dharma (dharmamegha-bhumi) or tathagata stage of selfrealiazation,
during which a bodhisattva reaches full perfection and becomes a fully enlightened
Buddha.17 Each stage has its own practice and is a different strength of tea whose flavor may take
ever increasing numbers of years (if not kalpas) to fully discern. Thus Bodhidharma’s nine years
facing the wall.18
So in the middle of the seventh century in came the more easily understandable Diamond
Sutra as the number of practitioners rose from one (Hui-k’o) to hundreds and thousands. It seems
just possible, however, that when a master met with his most advanced students, he handed him
or her a copy of the Lanka saying, “all that you need to know now about the Dharma is in this
sutra.”
Notes
1. For translations of the Lanka into English with commentary, see Suzuki (1930, 1932, 1934)
and Red Pine (2012). Lanka is popularly thought to be Sri Lanka, though it could refer to an
imaginary island south of India (Suzuki 1930:3). Red Pine (2012:282) identifies it with Sri
Lanka.
2. As record
B MIND So modest, so ordinary, so simple—the present moment has been forced to become a really big deal.
Practicing real mindfulness means making one mistake after another and being willing to laugh our way back into place.
we are working with the phrasing unforced freedom of choice emerging from embodied awareness as a measurable metric for mindfulness training as related to behavior change.
Researchers have reported that mindfulness can ease fatigue, improve sleep quality, and enhance quality of life in patients struggling with cancer.
By finding the space to reflect, physicians can reconnect with the impulses of caring and compassion that led them into medicine in the first place.
In short, Samatha meditation is focused on calming the mind, whilst Vipassana meditation is focused on insight or clearing the mind. Both meditations have their uses but which one you should practice depends on what your goal is. For the purposes of most people seeking to get into meditation we consider Vipassana to be the meditation of choice that is going to deliver them the results they want.
People who start to delve a little more deeply into mindfulness will discover that different terms are used for different kinds of meditation. In this article we will focus specifically on Samatha and Vipassana meditations. What are these meditations, what is the different between them, and which one should a person ideally practice?
In short, Samatha meditation is focused on calming the mind, whilst Vipassana meditation is focused on insight or clearing the mind. Both meditations have their uses but which one you should practice depends on what your goal is. For the purposes of most people seeking to get into meditation we consider Vipassana to be the meditation of choice that is going to deliver them the results they want. Let’s look at why in more detail below.
What is Samatha Meditation?
Samatha meditation refers to meditation aimed at calmness or tranquility. It is specifically focused on quieting the mind and can be used to achieve great states of calm and focus. In Buddhist philosophy it can also be used to develop other abilities such as mind reading and seeing past lives, but we will leave these topic aside for now.
In practical down to earth terms, the Samatha meditation that most people who first get into meditation will practice is that of counting breaths. So they will simply focus on their breath, counting up from one to five or ten and then starting again at one. It is generally advised to not go past ten but start again at one.
Doing this even for a short time can noticeably calm the mind and improve focus as well. This calmness can be used to temporarily handle stress or for other purposes. If tranquility rather than clearing the mind or letting go is the main focus of meditation then this is the method for you. It can serve to quickly quieten an overactive mind.
Note though that in Samantha meditation you are focusing on a concept rather than a reality. The breath itself is a concept we create in our mind, as is the numbering we use to track it under this practice. This is an important contrast to Vipassana meditation which we will discuss below.
Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu briefly describes Samatha practice and compares to Vipassana
Samatha meditation (counting breaths) is for calming the mind; Vipassana meditation (observing the abdomen rising and falling) is for clearing the mind
What is Vipassana Meditation?
By contrast Vipassana meditation is aimed at insight or clearing the mind. It is specifically focused on allowing a person to see clearly and gradually rid their mind of impurities or defilements. In lay terms this is the preferred meditation for letting go as it will allow you to see yourself, others, reality and your past with more clarity and ultimately come to terms with it.
In practice this practice can take far more varied forms, but in terms of breathing it involves tracking the breath in terms of one of the five physical senses – tracking the rising and falling of the stomach or the flow of air as in enters and leaves the nostrils during the in-breath and out-breath. You are following the breath in the sense of how it is physically manifesting rather than numerically counting it.
However Vipassana meditation is not restricted to just tracking the breath in this way but also includes tracking any of the five senses – seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching – by non judgemental observation. Thoughts and feelings can also be included in this. In a general sense it involves paying non judgemental attention to one or more aspects of our moment to moment mental or physical experience.
This is a much broader definition than the Samatha meditation and covers much more of our momentary experience. As such after some practice it can deliver much wider benefits than just calmness. As an added bonus though practicing Vipassana can also produce great states of calm as well as insight or seeing clearly; it is just that the calmness is more of a byproduct rather than the main focus of the meditation as it is with Samatha.
A Subtle Difference Between Samantha and Vipassana Meditation
The main differences between Samantha (calmness) and Vipassana (insight) in terms of what they deliver we have already made clear, but the difference between what the meditations are focusing on and why they are different is a little more subtle and deserve a little more explaining.
Samatha or tranquility meditation can only calm the mind because it is focusing the mind on a concept such as the breath and counting up through them with numbers, which are also a concept. What we call the breath is an abstraction or shorthand for the abdomen rising or falling or some other physical manifestation of breathing.
By contrast the Vipassana meditation is actually focusing on the physical reality of these breaths manifesting, such as the abdomen rising and falling or air going in and out of the nostrils. It is focused on directly observing moment to moment experience on the level of the senses or thoughts.
Of course the breath in terms of the rising and falling abdomen is only a very small part of this momentary experience, which can also include hearing sounds and observing other sensations in the body as well as thoughts and feelings. So the Vipassana definition of meditation encompasses a whole lot more than the Samatha definition, which just focuses the mind very intently on one particular concept to produce states of calm.
Should I Practice Samatha or Vipassana?
Based on the differences we explained, you choose which meditation based on what you want the outcome or goal of the meditation to be. If calmness or tranquility alone is your main goal, then choose Samatha; if insight is your goal then choose Vipassana meditation. By insight we also mean seeing clearly or clearing the mind.
We anticipate that most visitors to this blog have come here to look for resources for letting go or acceptance in some part of their lives or to manage some kind of mental disturbance like depression. In these cases it is safe to say that Vipassana meditation is the practice of choice, as it is specifically designed for seeing clearly and therefore letting go. Solely using meditation for calmness will not resolve underlying problems in the mind or unresolved issues from the past.
On a philosophical level, Vipassana meditation allows for this letting go as it is focused on observing actual reality. As Buddhism teaches us, once you use meditation to observe reality, you begin to see reality more clearly in the sense of non-permanence. Focusing on the breath or other phenomena as they are becomes a means by which we begin to understand reality and life in a wider sense. We see the flow of things more clearly.
We start to see that emotions, thoughts, sensations are never permanent and arise and cease. This leads us to cling less to negative things like depression as we realise that it is just temporary experience that will come and go like anything else. We loosen our attachment to things that used to bother us. We develop an equanimity where we become less affected and ruffled by things that might have stressed us out before.
This non judgemental observance of reality also leads to to a level of acceptance, where we come to terms and make peace with what has happened in the past. Through practice observing reality through meditation we come to accept it as it is and not seek so much to change it, either in the present or in an “if only” sense of constantly going over the past. We gradually learn to let go.
From drawing out these these differences we can see that for most people Vipassana is the meditation that is going to get them where they want to go more effectively. The majority of people are not getting into meditation solely for calmness but are also looking for other benefits, like to clear their mind of baggage and negativity and for this you will need to focus on reality and not concepts.
As a side product of Vipassana meditation we do also develop an increased calmness; it is just differentiated from Samantha meditation as calmness is not it’s main focus or goal. See the embedded video below where the differences between Samatha and Vipassana meditation are drawn out a little more and some pro’s and con’s are discussed.
Samatha and Vipassana Meditation Compared a Little More…
See our Mindfulness Resources page for more information and to get started on mindfulness. The introductory 8 week course we have on that page is basically a form of Vipassana meditation for insight and letting go.
B MIND X KRMA
How Karma Works
Several days ago, I received a comment on an old post asking about the Buddhist concept of rebirth. The author of the comment stated that he was confused about the notion of rebirth as it is based on the concept of “no- soul.” If there is no soul, he asked, then how does our accumulated karma travel into the next life?
This is a frequently asked question, and a great subject of confusion.
First, we have a question of semantics. What do we mean by when we say “no-soul?” It refers to Buddhist doctrine that rejects the concept of atman (self, soul, ego) as a metaphysical reality that is eternal and independent. In the West, we often call it the doctrine of “no-self,” “non-self,” or “no-soul.” It also corresponds with svabhava, which denies that living things possess an intrinsic essence, nature, or being.
Now this does not deny the reality of the conventional sense of “I.” You, me – I – does exist but only as a temporary combination of various elements, traits, inclinations, and physical characteristics. This combination will disintegrate when we die. Buddhism says we have a problem because we tend to fixate on “I” which leads to delusions, the root of sufferings.
I will point out that when we use terms such as “no-soul” or “no-ego,” we are applying atman to Western concepts that Buddha and the early Buddhist were not aware of, for these ideas did not exist in their world. They did not have the same sense of self, soul, God, or religion as we have in the modern age.
In Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh describes atman this way,
“Impermanence is the same as non-self. Since phenomena are impermanent, they do not possess a permanent identity. Non-self is also emptiness. Emptiness of what? Empty of a permanent self. Non-self means also interbeing. Because everything is made of everything else, nothing can be by itself alone. Non-self is also interpenetration, because everything contains everything else. Non-self is also interdependence, because this is made of that. Each thing depends on all other things to be. that is interdependence. Nothing can be by itself alone. It has to inter-be with all other things. That is non-self.”
When the Buddha awakened, he no longer saw reality as a compartmentalized realm where everything is separate. Instead, he saw impermanence and interdependence. Because of impermanence, nothing is permanent, eternal. Because of interdependence, everything (everyone) is inter-connected.
Rebirth is also confusing. Many people get it mixed up with reincarnation. But reincarnation is not a Buddhist concept. Reincarnation is the idea that the same soul or same person is reborn in successive bodies. With this concept you could possibly remember past lives (but I doubt it). Again, Buddhist philosophy rejects the notion of a soul or a self that is permanent. You will never be reborn as the same person ever again.
What Buddhism teaches is rebirth, the cycle of birth and death. You may carry over into your next life some karma, or traces, of your former lives, but you will forever be a new, unique person with no real memory of the past. If fact, according to Buddhist teachings, it’s very rare to remember a past life.
Zen teacher John Daido Loori says,
“The self is an idea, a mental construct… That being the case, what is it that dies? There is no question that when this physical body is no longer capable of functioning, the energies within it, the atoms and molecules it is made up of, don’t die with it. They take on another form, another shape. You can call that another life, but as there is no permanent, unchanging substance, nothing passes from one moment to the next. Quite obviously, nothing permanent or unchanging can pass or transmigrate from one life to the next. Being born and dying continues unbroken but changes every moment.”
Karma is based on intention. Good intentions create good karma. Bad intentions create negative karma. But instead of focusing on the action aspect of karma, we should view karma as potential. Karma is like mental seeds planted within the mind that have the potential to ripen and exert some sort of influence at a future time. Awarness of this potential helps us make wiser choices.
Geshe Tashi Tsering in his book The Buddha’s Medicine for the Mind: Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion, explains further:
“This potential is a karmic seed, a seed planted in our mind by physical, verbal or mental action. The strength or depth of this seed is determined by a number of factors, including how strong our intention is, whether we clearly understand what we are doing, whether we act on our intention and whether the physical and verbal action is completed.”
Seeds will remain in the mind until they ripen or until they are destroyed. Seeds left by negative mental events and actions are destroyed by applying the four opponent or antidotal powers (support, regret, resolve, and action as antidote). The power of regret for the negative act, together with a firm resolve not to act that way again in the future, is said to be very effective in the purification of karma.
Accumulated Karma is merely the collection of karmic potential we have gathered up in our journey (or journeys) through life. The karma seeds are “carried” through the cycle of birth and death via a stream of consciousness, a continuum of consciousness.
I’ll be the first to admit that the explanation is not entirely satisfactory. It leaves some questions unanswered. However, I don’t spend a great deal of time about it. I don’t believe it is absolutely necessary to accept the notions of karma and rebirth in order to be a Buddhist. But belief in and/or acceptance of karma and rebirth is a matter that goes beyond the scope of this post. So, for today, it is enough to simply say… don’t worry, be happy.
After thirty years of Buddhist practice and study, I’ve learned that the most important thing is the first thing we’re all taught in the beginning. The only thing that matters is the present moment, our present life. We should be concerned with what we do in the present, in the timeless reality of now, and not what may, or may not, happen sometime in the future.
The conventional arises from afflictions and karma;
And karma arises from the mind;
Tendencies are accumulated in the mind;
When free from tendencies it’s happiness.
POST CVD CR CRSH 55 X SOFTEN INTO LYF
“It’s the hard things that break; soft things don’t break…You can waste so many years of your life trying to become something hard in order not to break; but it’s the soft things that can’t break! The hard things are the ones that shatter into a million pieces!” ~C Joybell C
M risk for Parkinson disease is elevated among patients with Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis.
risk for Parkinson disease is elevated among patients with Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis.
B PATH X B MIND The mind is everything. What you think you become.” – Buddha
The path is grouped into three basic divisions: Pranja, Sila, and Samadhi.
Prajna (Wisdom)
Pranja translates to wisdom. Wisdom is different from knowledge. Knowledge is an accumulation of historical and experimental facts, which is mainly obtained through studying. Wisdom is somewhat intrinsic which is mainly obtained through cultivation and mental development/meditation. If your mind is pure and calm, your wisdom will emerge. In practical terms, wisdom comes at the end of one's practice of the path.
Prajna is regarded as enlightenment, which is the ultimate goal of Buddhism, and the key element in Buddhism. This consists of the first two pieces of the Noble Eightfold Path: right view and right intention. Right view is the belief that there is an afterlife and not everything ends with death, that Buddha taught and followed a successful path to nirvana. Right intention means giving up the home and adopting the life of a religious mendicant in order to follow the path.
Sila (Moral Virtues)
It is very important to note that morality is the foundation for the progress on the path, as it is the foundation of all qualities. In Buddhism, the morality is based on the principle of equality and the principle of reciprocity. Equality means that all living things are equal in their essential attitudes (animals not excluded) e.g. happiness, security. Reciprocity means "do unto others what you want others to do unto you". Nowadays, there is a dangerous tendency to neglect the importance of morality and to go just to the more exciting part of the paths, i.e. meditation and philosophy.
This consists of the first three pieces of the Noble Eightfold Path: right speech, right action, and right livelihood. Right speech means no lying, no rude speech, no telling one person what another says about him, speaking that which leads to salvation. Right action means no killing or injuring, no taking what is not given; no sexual acts in monastic pursuit. Lastly, right livelihood as abstaining from wrong livelihood, explained as not becoming a source or means of suffering to sentient beings by cheating them, or harming or killing them in any way.
Samadhi (Meditation)
In studying and practicing Buddhism, there are many goals and objectives. Besides the goal of happiness and good fortune, there is also the goal of freedom. If one wants to achieve the goal of freedom, the only way is through wisdom. In order to attain wisdom, one must purify the mind, develop the mind through meditation. Thus, mental development is necessary for wisdom. On the other hand, mental development can also safeguard our practice of good conduct/morality as it can strengthen and control our mind.
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